WI: Hubert Humphrey colluded with the USSR to win in 1968?

So in 1968, the USSR attempted to collude with Hubert Humphrey to win him the election over Richard Nixon because, frankly, Nixon terrified them.

You can find some more info in this NY Times article.

What if Humphrey had accepted the assistance and gone on to win the presidency, only for it to be immediately be picked up upon by the FBI and thoroughly investigated throughout Humphrey's time in office?

What would the effects of this be? How would this compare to the Watergate Scandal's effect on the American Psyche?
 
Humphrey was an ardent anti-communist and support the McCarran act, which was an anti-communist act which many felt was against the constitution. Why would he give up his history of anti-communism to win? Humphrey wasn't that sort of guy. Sorry, but this is ridiculous.
 
Humphrey was an ardent anti-communist and support the McCarran act, which was an anti-communist act which many felt was against the constitution. Why would he give up his history of anti-communism to win? Humphrey wasn't that sort of guy. Sorry, but this is ridiculous.

Personally, I find it ridiculous to throw away an entire topic of discussion over one person's personality.

Hubert Humphrey doesn't have to be a Russian sleeper agent or even moderate on communism to accept Russian assistance. He just has to care about beating Nixon more than maintaining more integrity or following the law. Ever heard of realpolitik or, you know, greed?

Hell, it could even be just a moment of weakness where he accepts the meeting and maybe dabbles in the possibility of receiving assistance and then backs out and still ends up winning (the election was super close, so by the principle of chaos theory, him just meeting with Soviet officials could result in his campaign playing out slightly differently and him winning).

But the topic of discussion isn't really about his acceptance, IOTL he firmly rejected them and contacted the FBI. This is about what would happen if he didn't and then won.
 

Wallet

Banned
Nah I know of a more interesting idea. We do know Nixon sent agents to South Vietnam to hold off on the peace talks to win the election. LBJ knew about it, but didn't want to reveal he was spying on Nixon.

Imagine if the KGB found out. Surely they had spies in the Presidential Palace of South Vietnam OTL? They could then leak the info to the New York Times and Washington Post. Maybe leak it to M16 (which had plenty of Soviet sleeper agents) who leak it to American media? Or they leak it to the Black Panthers or Nation of Islam?

This could also be the greatest James Bond movie ever.
 
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